[YANGON] Myanmar has called an emergency Asean meeting to discuss the Rohingya crisis, a diplomat said Monday, as regional tensions deepen over a bloody military crackdown on the country’s Muslim minority.
More than 20,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh over the past two months, fleeing a military campaign in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.
Their stories of mass rape and murder at the hands of security forces have galvanised protests in Muslim nations around the region, with Buddhist-majority Myanmar facing diplomatic pressure from its neighbours.
Last week Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak lashed out at Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi for allowing “genocide” on her watch, speaking before thousands of angry protesters in Kuala Lumpur.
Myanmar, which has vehemently denied the accusations, responded by angrily summoning Malaysia’s ambassador and banning its workers from going to the country.
A diplomatic source in the Philippines confirmed Myanmar had invited them for an emergency Asean meeting to discuss “the Rohingya issue”.
The source declined to give more details on the meeting, which the Nikkei reported would be held in Yangon on Dec 19. Myanmar officials could not be reached for comment.
The bloodshed presents the biggest challenge to Nobel Peace prize winner Ms Suu Kyi since her party won the country’s first democratic elections in a generation last year.
Last week the UN’s special adviser on Myanmar criticised her handling of the crisis, saying it had “caused frustration locally and disappointment internationally”.
Ms Suu Kyi also held talks over Rakhine with the foreign minister of Indonesia, after cancelling a visit to the country in November following protests and an attempted attack on the Myanmar embassy.
State media report almost 100 people have been killed – 17 soldiers and 76 suspects – in the army operation in Rakhine that followed deadly raids on police border posts on Oct 9.
That includes six suspects who died during interrogations, the Global New Light of Myanmar said on Saturday, out of some 575 people who have been detained.
Advocacy groups put the death toll in the hundreds, but foreign journalists and independent investigators have been barred from visiting the area to verify the figures.
With the crisis showing no sign of abating, the government over the weekend extended a 7.00pm to 6.00am curfew across the locked-down area for another two months.
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, reflect on your own complicity in the genocide of my fellow Rohingya people, instead of dismissing well-documented allegations of crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and genocide as “exaggerations” and “fabrications”
Myanmar State Counsellor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, both personally and from her Office, attack the growing allegations of her government’s policies of persecution of Rohingya people.
This is the latest and official attack on the video-clip which has been viewed over 96,000 times on YouTube.
I am a Rohingya activist and professional, fluent in Burmese, Rohingya and English languages, living in exile. I made the 2-minutes video-clip with English language subtitles and posted it on YouTube with the purpose of exposing Aung San Suu Kyi’s culpability and complicity in the crime of genocide against my peoples, including babies, children, women, men and elderly people.
Here is my subtitled video of you LAUGHING OUT LOUD at the genocide allegations.
The clip was a complete Burmese language exchange between a questioner and the State Counsellor from the live webcast of her public meeting with the Burmese in Singapore on 1 Dec 2016.
The literal translation of both the question, submitted in writing, which Aung San Suu Kyi herself read to the audience, and her own Burmese language response, was – and still is -100% impossible. For the whole Q and A exchange was coded.
Therefore, the inferences were made against the backdrop of Myanmar’s overwhelming public and official dismissal as “exaggerations” and “fabrications” the Rohingya identity, existence and genocidal policies – all to the best of my linguistic capabilities and in complete honesty.
This dismissal has dominated the Burmese public discourse, official statements by the governments (both the previous Government of Thein Sein and the current NLD Government or formerly opposition party) and in the social and real time mass media in Burmese language, over the past 4 years since the two bouts of large scale organized violence against Rohingyas broke out in June and October of 2012.
In her press meetings, Aung San Suu Kyi has used consistently the word “exaggerations” in reference to allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Rohingya people in the months leading up the election in November 2015. She has also reportedly used that expression “fabrications”, “biases” and “exaggerations” in her official meetings with foreign diplomats whom she chided them as relying on false or biased media reports.
The subtitles were the result of the deciphering of what those “fabrications” might be, when she laughed them out, apparently finding these “exaggerations” and “fabrications” to be nothing more than a laughing matter.
Even a YouTube which was posted by a Facebook user named “Thura Soe”. in Aung San Suu Kyi’s defence in the comment session in the State Counsellor Office’s Facebook page Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi needs to reflect on her own complicity in the genocide.
In that alternative deciphering or interpretation of the completely coded Q and A ‘fabrications’ were interpreted as “reference to the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party” or USDP.
The fact is USDP is never referred to by either Aung San Suu Kyi or her government’s Information Committee led by former USDP Government spokesperson ex-Major Zaw Htay. Nor USDP, which NLD dealt a crushing electoral defeat, has presented Aung San Suu Kyi any major headache, unlike the growing and worldwide accusations and criticisms of her complicity and silence.
Furthermore, Aung San Suu Kyi herself has openly dismissed any credible allegations of genocide and ethnic cleansing as “biased” or “fabrications” or “exaggerations”.
Additionally, the Myanmar Information Committee from her office has directly scathing if baseless accusations against Human Rights Watch, BBC, CNA, CNN, Reuters, etc. rejecting even the satellite images of charred Rohingya villages.
Both these pieces of contextual information and the reports of Ms Suu Kyi’s dismissal of our Rohingya people’s collective plight as ‘exaggerations’ as well as her reported and repeated characterisation of Rohingya – including our identity as a once officially recognised ethnic minority of the Union of Burma – as “non-factual” had compelled me to come up with the only plausible deciphering as reflected in my subtitle.
I had also checked with other native speakers of Burmese who are fluent bi-lingual English-Burmese speakers and scholars. They all agreed with my deciphered subtitles.
Of course, you can also deny because the Burmese speech pattern that you resorted to will allow you “the space of deniability.” Admittedly, I could never presume to know exactly what you had in your anti-Rohingya, anti-Muslim racist mind.
However, I would like to ask Ms Suu Kyi to tell me, the accused, what exactly was coded in that Q and A on 1 Dec.
Finally – and more importantly, as a Rohingya in exile, I would like to urge strongly Ms Suu Kyi to search her soul deep and see why she finds these well-researched findings of ethnic cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity “exaggerations”.
How could you, Ms Suu Kyi possibly know, let alone dismiss, these international allegations, since you have never documented any human rights abuses in your entire life, nor ever bothered to travel to the crime scenes of my birthplace – N. Arakan – and set foot on a Rohingya IDP camp or an impoverished and oppressed Rohingya village?
After all, the name of the crime of Rohingya persecution have been accepted as crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing or genocide by some of the most world’s credible organizations, university research centres, UN special rapporteurs – including Ms Suu Kyi’s friend and teacher Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen, Desmond Tutu, Jodi Williams and Jose Ramos-Horta, Human Rights Watch, Yale University Human Rights Law Clinic, respected legal scholar and practitioners Sir Geoffrey Nice and Katherine Southwick (of Yugoslavia), renowned scholars of mass atrocities Professors Gregory Stanton and Penny Green, Human Rights Watch, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, just to name a few.
— Eye-opener on genocide against my People:
Amartya Sen, “The Term ‘slow genocide’ is appropriate because you deny [Rohingya] people health care, nutritional opportunities.” –
George Soros, “In Aung Mingalar, I heard the echoes of my childhood. You see, in 1944, as a Jew in Budapest, I too was a Rohingya. Much like the Jewish ghettos set up by Nazis around Eastern Europe during World War II, Aung Mingalar has become the involuntary home to thousands of families who once had access to health care, education and employment. Now, they are forced to remain segregated in a state of abject deprivation. The parallels to the Nazi genocide are alarming.”
Desmond Tutu, “The government of Myanmar has sought to absolve itself of responsibility for the conflict between the Rakhine and the Rohingya, projecting it as sectarian or communal violence. I would be more inclined to heed the warnings of eminent scholars and researchers including Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate in economics, who say this is a deliberately false narrative to camouflage the slow genocide being committed against the Rohingya people.” (source: http://www.tutufoundationusa.org/2015/05/29/desmond-tutu-the-slow-genocide-against-the-rohingya)
Bermula Isnin (12 Dis), semua 70 masjid di Singapura akan menjalankan usaha mengumpul derma bagi membantu para mangsa gempa Aceh dan juga mangsa di Rakhine.
Inisiatif itu diterajui oleh Yayasan Rahmatan Lil Alamin (RLAF).
Kotak-kotak derma akan ditempatkan di kesemua 70 masjid di Singapura selama seminggu, dari Isnin depan sehingga 19 Disember 2016.
Pada minggu lalu (7 Dis), daerah Pidie Jaya di Aceh dikejutkan dengan gempa sekuat 6.5 magnitud.
Menurut pihak berkuasa, sehingga pagi ini (10 Dis) angka korban akibat gegaran yang memusnahkan banyak bangunan sudah melonjak melebihi 100 orang.
14 masjid turut dilaporkan mengalami kerosakan akibat bencana alam itu.
Penduduk Aceh bersolat Jumaat di luar masjid yang sudah roboh akibat gempa. (Gambar: CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP)
Di Rakhine pula, keganasan tercetus menyusuli serangan-serangan oleh kumpulan-kumpulan militan ke atas tiga pondok polis sempadan pada 9 Oktober lalu.
Sejak itu, terdapat laporan-laporan tentang pengusiran beramai-ramai penduduk Rohingya dalam satu operasi tentera, dakwaan askar-askar membunuh ramai orang awam dan juga kampung-kampung yang dibakar.
Pelarian Rohingya menunjuk perasaan terhadap penindasan yang berlaku di Rakhine. (Gambar: MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)
CARA-CARA UNTUK ANDA MENDERMA
Tertera pada tabung-tabung derma di masjid-masjid adalah: “Usaha Bantuan Kemanusiaan Bagi Aceh dan Wilayah Rakhine” (Humanitarian Relief Effort for Aceh and Rakhine State).
Orang ramai juga boleh menghulurkan derma secara tunai atau cek, dengan cek ditujukan kepada “RLAF” dan dituliskan “Humanitarian Relief Effort for Aceh and Rakhine State” di bahagian belakangnya.
Derma tunai dan cek boleh dikirimkan ke Bangunan Muis di Hab Islam Singapura. Orang ramai juga boleh membuat derma online menerusi laman Muis https://zakat.sg/ePayment/donations.aspx.
Hasil kutipan derma akan dibahagikan sama rata untuk digunakan sebagai bantuan kemanusiaan bagi para mangsa di Aceh dan wilayah Rakhine.
The visit by Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has been widely covered by local media.
A video by Channel NewsAsia on Aung San Suu Kyi inspecting the guard of honour at the Istana generated much reponse from locals and Myanmar national alike.
Some locals pointed out that Aung San Suu Kyi was disrespectful as she did not acknowledge the state colours when she walked past them.
Others called on her to address the proverbial elephant in the Istana – the genocide of the Rohingya. They wanted Aung San Suu Kyi to learn from Singapore.
This elicited protestations from Myanmar nationals who claim that Singaporeans do not understand the Rohingya problem.
To convince Singaporeans, one even gave an impromptu lesson in Myanmar history.
This was followed by a concerted outpouring of love for Aung San Suu Kyi.
Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi has vowed to work towards “peace and national reconciliation” but has refused to address accusations Rohingya Muslims in her country may be the victims of crimes against humanity.
Ms Suu Kyi gave no specific details on how her government intends to resolve the violence and discrimination the long-persecuted Muslim minority face.
“We do not want our country to be unstable. But we’ve had a long history of disunity within our nation,” she said, addressing senior business representatives in Singapore.
“So national reconciliation is unavoidably important for us. It’s not a matter of choice. It’s unavoidable.”
She added: “We have to achieve peace and national reconciliation that our country may be able to progress, and that those who wish to invest in our country may find the right amount of confidence.”
Around 30,000 have fled their home in Rakhines and analysis of satellite images by Human Rights Watch found hundreds of buildings in Rohingya villages have been burned.
The Burmese government has denied allegations of abuse. Officials say the army is hunting “terrorists” behind raids on police last month.
Despite having lived in Burma for generations, Rohingya Muslims are barred from citizenship in the nation of 50 million, and instead live as some of the most oppressed people in the world.
Since communal violence broke out in 2012, more than 120,000 Rohingya have been driven from their homes and crammed into squalid camps guarded by police. There, they are denied healthcare and education, and their movements are heavily restricted.
Ms Suu Kyi was scheduled to visit Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, after Singapore, but postponed the trip in the face of public protests and a thwarted bomb plot against the Burmese embassy.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will take part in a rare rally at the weekend to protest the crackdown on Rohingyas, an official from his office said Tuesday.
Ms Suu Kyi led her party to victory in elections last year but, barred from becoming president by a junta-era constitution, instead holds a specially created post of state counsellor.
She appointed fellow Nobel laureate former UN chief Kofi Annan to head a special commission to investigate how to mend bitter religious and ethnic divides in impoverished Rakhine.
Mr Annan began a week-long trip to Burma on Tuesday.
